Tom Brady is in a conference game again. In a vacuum, the statement is nothing new. After all, he has now reached the threshold of the Super Bowl 14 times in his career, which is by far the all-time. What is different, however, is the team he takes with him, while making an effort to win the big game. Instead of being the New England Patriots, the club with which he won six Super Bowls during his two-decade career, Brady takes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the conference title game in his first season with the club.
Although the jersey was different, Brady’s first season in Tampa was apparently a day-to-day experience in a different respect: coaching. It’s not hard to spot the differences between Bill Belichick, who follows a more militaristic approach, and Bruce Arians, who adopts a more relaxed style. While the two coaching techniques yielded similar results with Brady at the helm, Arians did emphasize how he unlocked one aspect of Brady’s play that was largely limited in Foxborough.
“Complete leader,” Arians told NBC Sports’ Peter King of Brady. “It’s been all year. I have the air of confidence that permeates our team every day. I allow him to be himself. Like New England did not allow him to coach. I allow him to coach. “Sometimes I just sit back and watch.”
Buccaneers linebacker Devin White also has a strong nod to Brady’s ability to train the rest of his team.
“The thing I like about Tom is that he always teaches,” White said. “Teach me how to be a good leader. Every day, every practice, he introduces the team to himself. The first few days he’s in the locker room, we’re all like, ‘We’re in the locker room with the biggest “Player of all time! Like, I want to talk to him, I want to get a picture with him.” But then he is your teammate. You’re here for a reason.
“I was quite upset a few weeks ago because I did not make the Pro Bowl. He’s like, ‘D, there’s a bigger bowl I’m chasing. We’re all chasing it. Come on.’ I just thought, man, it’s a blessing to hear it. I need to hear it. This thing’s about us. He’s still chasing those bowls in his forties. I’m just so grateful I can be with him this time. spend. ‘
This ability to have a bigger voice within the Bucs organization was perhaps one of the more appealing aspects for Brady that left the Patriots last season. It’s probably a lot easier for him to use his aura to be the greatest of all time in a brand new team that has a more receptive coach in Arians than the situation he had in New England. After all, it’s a tough track to merge with Belichick to try to coach in the way Arians highlighted, especially after going through a certain routine for decades.
No matter which way you prefer it, however, you can not reason with the results because Brady has regularly challenged his Patriots and now has the Bucs in the Super Bowl conversation. He will now try to reach the Super Bowl for the tenth time in his career when his Buccaneers pack in Lambeau Field on Sunday to tackle the Packers.